Girl Talk
by MacKenzie Rabb
Summary: JAG/X-Files Crossover Mac and Scully meet at McMurphy's, and they talk about life, love, and their partners.


Title: Girl Talk  
  
Author: MacKenzie Rabb  
  
E-mail: mackenzie_rabb@yahoo.com  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Classification: JAG/X-Files Crossover; Romance (Harm/Mac; Mulder/Scully); Angst  
  
Spoilers: JAG- "Family Secrets"; X-Files- "Requiem"  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to JAG. It is the property of   
Donald Bellisario, CBS, and Paramount Pictures. No infringement is intended.   
I also don't own the X-Files. That belongs to the psycho Chris Carter and his   
cronies at 1013 Productions and FOX. (Sorry, I just think this season of the   
X-Files sucks. But anyway...)  
  
Author's Notes: I'm a fan of both, so I just had to! That's my story and I'm   
stickin' to it!  
  
Summary: Mac and Scully meet at McMurphy's, and they talk about life, love,   
and their partners.  
*********************************************************************  
**********************  
  
2100 Hours  
McMurphy's Tavern  
  
Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie hopped onto a barstool at McMurphy's and ordered   
a Coke. It had been a long day, and she just wanted caffeine and enough sugar to   
put her into a coma. Coke would be a start. She'd delve into her candy stash at   
home later.  
  
As she hummed along with the Patsy Cline tune on the jukebox, she noticed a   
rather depressed looking redhead seated on the stool next to her.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Mac asked her. She really did look down.  
  
The redhead snapped out of her trance-like state. "I can't remember when things   
were any worse," she replied.  
  
"I'm Sarah, if you'd like someone to talk to," Mac said, offering her hand.  
  
"Dana," the other woman said, taking it. "Dana Scully."  
  
"Sarah MacKenzie," Mac said, supplying her last name.  
  
"In the Marine Corps, Sarah?" Scully asked.  
  
Mac fiddled with the drink in front of her. "Yep," she smiled.  
  
"Lt. Colonel?"  
  
"Exactly. You're good, are you in the military?" Mac asked.  
  
"Oh, no. Navy brat. My dad was a Captain. I called him Ahab, actually. He called   
me Starbuck."  
  
" 'Moby Dick'," Mac answered. "Cute. So what do you do then, Dana?"  
  
"I'm an FBI agent."  
  
"Ooooh," Mac said, nodding. "Rough day at work?"  
  
Scully laughed mirthlessly. "Rough life lately."  
  
"Mmm, I know what you mean," Mac agreed.  
  
"Well, for your sake, I hope it's not half as rough as my life has been the last   
few months."  
  
"Care to tell me about it? I'm a pretty good listener," Mac offered.  
  
Scully sighed. Might as well talk to someone, she thought. Get it all out.  
  
"My partner is missing. Has been since May. I don't know where he is, or how to   
find him. And I just keep waiting on a phone call that never comes."  
  
"Oh, God. That's awful. What happened?" Mac asked.  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Scully warned.  
  
"Try me," Mac coaxed.  
  
"He was abducted by aliens. Or the government. Who knows, really?" She stopped to   
let that sink in.  
  
Mac looked at her sympathetically. "I thought I had problems. I'm really sorry, Dana.   
I hope he's found, and that he's okay."  
  
"So do I," Scully said. "But you don't think that's weird?" she asked, surprised.  
  
"Well, you don't seem too sure yourself of what's going on. So we'll just chalk it up   
to 'stranger things have happened'. I've seen a few weird things in my time. Besides,   
I wouldn't be surprised if the government has something going on."  
  
"You don't want to know," Scully said, taking a sip of her drink.  
  
"Hittin' the hard stuff?" Mac asked.  
  
"Not hardly," Scully said, leaning slightly back from the bar to reveal her protruding   
belly. "I'm depressed, but I'm also a doctor. Not to mention I never thought I'd have   
a baby, but that's another very long, very bizarre story."  
  
"Well, congratulations. Who's the lucky daddy?" Mac asked, wondering why   
anyone would leave a pregnant woman alone, when she was so obviously in pain.  
  
"I'm not married. And Mulder, that's my partner, Fox Mulder, is the father."  
  
"Oh my," Mac said frowning. "That does it. I officially have no problems."  
  
Just then, Harmon Rabb walked in the door.  
  
"Or maybe one little one," Mac whispered to Scully.  
  
"Hey, Mac," Harm said. "Unwinding after a long day in court?"  
  
"Nah, trying to get wasted on sugar. But I don't know if it'll work," she   
replied dryly. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just grabbing some coffee. I've got a mountain of paperwork, and all night   
to do it," he said.  
  
Mac turned to Scully. "Dana Scully, this is Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr.,   
U.S. Navy. Dana's father was in the Navy," she smiled.  
  
Harm shook Scully's hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Scully."  
  
"Call me Dana," she said, managing a smile.  
  
"Everybody calls me Harm," he said, grinning.  
  
"And usually with good reason," Mac wisecracked.  
  
"Funny, Mac. My father was Navy too. A pilot though," he directed at Scully.  
  
"So you became one too," she said, indicating his wings.  
  
"For awhile," Harm admitted. "I better get going, ladies. All that fun paperwork   
awaits me." He shook Scully's hand again, grabbed his coffee, and said his   
goodbyes to Mac. "See you tomorrow, Mac. It was nice meeting you, Dana."  
  
"You too, Harm," Scully said as he left.  
  
She looked at Mac, raising an eyebrow. "That's your problem? If you don't   
mind my saying, that's one gorgeous problem," Scully laughed.  
  
"Well, it goes a lot further than you might think, I'm afraid. But you probably   
don't want me to bore you with the details."  
  
"Please do. I could stand to hear someone else's woes for a change."  
  
"Do you want to move to a booth?" Mac asked. "I think we'd both be more comfortable."  
  
"Sure," Scully said.  
  
They found a quiet little booth in the back, and settled in.  
  
"So, who's Harm to you?" Scully asked.  
  
Mac sighed. "Harm is *my* partner," she smiled. "They're a pain in the butt, aren't they?"  
  
"They can be," Scully agreed.  
  
"How long have you and Fox been partners?" Mac asked.  
  
"Nine years in March," Scully answered.  
  
"Wow, that's a long time," Mac said.  
  
"Yeah. How long have you and Harm been partners?"  
  
"Four years exactly. But it seems longer."  
  
Scully noticed Mac playing with her engagement ring. "So, are you two engaged?"   
Scully asked, indicating the ring.  
  
Mac laughed a little. If only she could say yes to that. "No. I'm engaged to Mic   
Brumby former lawyer and Commander in the Royal Australian Navy."  
  
"Former?"  
  
"Yeah. He moved all the way to D.C. to be with me, and after ten months   
without giving an answer to his proposal, I said yes," Mac answered with a sigh.  
  
"You don't seem too happy about it," Scully observed.  
  
"Well, that's where my predicament comes in. I'm not really sure how I feel. Pretty   
stupid, huh?"  
  
"No, I know the feeling. I wasn't sure until the man I loved was gone. Believe me,   
you do *not* want to mess up like that."  
  
Mac looked at her ring thoughtfully. "I know, that's what I'm afraid of."  
  
"You're in love with him, aren't you?"  
  
Mac knew she was talking about Harm. She looked at Scully thoughtfully through   
narrowed eyes. "Is it that obvious?"  
  
"Ah, answering a question with a question, that's never a good sign," Scully pointed   
out.  
  
"No, really. Am I that transparent?" Mac questioned.  
  
"Hmmm, if we forget the fact that you lit up when he walked in here, then no."  
  
"Oh, God," Mac said, burying her face in her hands.  
  
"So, what about that ring?" Scully asked seriously.  
  
"I don't know. That's what got me here in the first place -- him. I love Mic,   
but I don't know if it's really enough to marry him. And I don't think I could   
ever love him like I've loved Harm all these years." Mac took a deep breath.   
"There, I finally said it out loud."  
  
"Feels better, doesn't it?" Scully asked.  
  
Mac nodded. "But not as good as if I could say it to him."  
  
"Well, at least you could say it to somebody. I couldn't even do that. With   
my lifestyle these past years, I haven't had time for friends."  
  
"My friends consist of Harriet from work, and Chloe, who's twelve. We met   
through the Big Sister, Little Sister program. And Harm..." she laughed.   
"I think Chloe and Harriet know, though I've only ever heard anything about it   
from Chloe."  
  
"From the mouths of babes..." Scully said.  
  
"Funny. That's what Harm said about something she said once."  
  
"He must be a great guy."  
  
"Yeah, he's wonderful. And not just on the outside either. Oh, the good looks   
are still no mediocrity to me, but he's a good man. An officer and a gentleman,   
as they say. Sounds rather cliche I know, but it's true. We've been to the ends   
of the earth and back for each other, but I don't know what went wrong along   
the way. I honestly don't know how he feels. And I just don't know how to   
break Mic's heart without making myself sick over it. I'm just not sure what   
to do anymore. Anyway... What's Fox like?"  
  
"Well, he's good looking too, but in a totally different way from Harm." She   
pulled out her wallet to show Mac a picture.  
  
"Ah," Mac nodded approvingly.  
  
"He's absolutely brilliant, a psychologist. He used to profile serial killers. Then   
he got into the X-Files division. Paranormal phenomena, that kind of thing.   
That's how we got into the situation we're in now. It's a long and winding story,   
believe me."  
  
"Well, you'll have to tell me all about it sometime," Mac said.  
  
"You'd have me committed," Scully laughed.  
  
"I doubt it, and anyway, everybody needs someone to confide in."  
  
Mac felt like she had known the slightly older agent for a long time.  
  
Scully felt the same, and was surprised that there was actually someone who   
wanted to hear about her problems, and that she could relate to. They both   
had more in common than they could have ever imagined.  
  
"When's the little one due? Although I'm sure you've been asked that a   
hundred times a day," Mac said.  
  
"Six weeks, and I'm more uncomfortable by the second."  
  
"I've been dying to have one for a couple of years now, but, well, with the   
way things have been going..." Mac trailed off.  
  
"Mmm, well, I didn't plan on this one," Scully said, rubbing her belly. "But   
that doesn't mean I don't want it. You could call this baby a miracle child after   
all I've been through."  
  
Mac was getting a little misty-eyed. "Do you ever feel like it's impossible to get   
what you want out of life, no matter how hard you try?"  
  
"Every single minute of every day."  
  
"I know that I could go after what I want, but I don't know if he's going to want   
me. And if he doesn't, then what? I honestly don't think I can love anyone after   
him. I'm pretty sure that I've already proven that to myself," Mac said miserably.  
  
"I was always on the other side of that. Mulder always expressed his emotions   
quite freely. I always had a feeling there was something going on with him. But   
I would never let myself go there with him, even think about him like that, no   
matter how much I truly wanted to. It wasn't till just before he was abducted   
that I let anything go. *I* never had anyone else to distract myself with, not that   
after six months with him it would've made any difference. But not having anyone   
else at all just made me want him worse. And professionalism always talked my heart   
out of it."  
  
"I could relate to that till about eleven months ago," Mac laughed. "We had this   
completely cryptic conversation where I thought I made it quite clear to him how   
I felt, and still, nothing got solved. It was cryptic mostly on his part. I guess I   
wasn't as clear as I thought I was."  
  
"It's just too complicated having a work partner of the opposite sex. Falling in love   
is fine, but trying to balance it with your career is next to impossible when it's with   
someone you work with."  
  
"Oh, I know all about that. And I hate to admit this, and I'm sorry about Fox, but I   
wish I was having Harm's baby," Mac said.  
  
"That's perfectly understandable, Sarah. I'm not sorry I'm having Mulder's baby,   
I'm just sorry that he's not here."  
  
"You'll find him," Mac said. "If you have half the determination I have for Harm,   
I know you will."  
  
"I don't lack the determination, just the clues to keep looking," Scully said. She   
looked at her watch and sighed. "It's getting late. I probably ought to be getting   
home. But thank you so much for listening. You don't know how good it feels   
for me to have someone to talk to."  
  
"Thank you for listening too," Mac said. She pulled a notepad from her bag, and   
jotted something down."Here's my number and address. I live in Georgetown,"   
she said, handing Scully a piece of paper.  
  
"Really? So do I," Scully said, surprised. "I wonder why we haven't seen each   
other around."  
  
"Probably both too busy," Mac smiled. "But you call or come see me if you   
need anything, okay? It sounds like we have a bit in common. Good luck with   
the baby."  
  
"Thanks. And tell your sailor how you feel, Sarah. If you don't have who and   
what you want, what's the point?"  
  
"I'll try, Dana, honestly. But he doesn't make things easy. And there's the little   
problem of his clingy girlfriend..."  
  
"You'll overcome the girlfriend," Scully assured her. "It may take him, oh, a   
minute, to figure out what he really wants and get a clear picture, but you'll be all right."  
  
"You never know," Mac agreed.  
  
"Well, I want an invitation to the wedding," Scully joked.  
  
"If things work out, it's a done deal. But I want an invite to your wedding too,"   
Mac said.  
  
"Well, we'll definitely have to wait and see on that one. I'll keep in touch, Sarah.   
See you later," she said, shaking Mac's hand, and getting up to leave. "It was   
really nice meeting you." She took out one of her cards and handed it to Mac,   
before she headed out the door.  
  
Mac took a sip of her drink, and got up to head home herself. She hoped she'd   
see Dana Scully again. They'd formed a bond in the past couple of hours that   
could last a lifetime. And where she had her JAG family, she was pretty sure   
Scully didn't have anything but her missing partner.  
  
Scully was grateful that Sarah MacKenzie was kind to a stranger, and that   
maybe they'd helped each other a little bit through a rough time. She felt   
she'd definitely be taking Mac up on a phone call or visit sooner or later.   
  
The End  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
